Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

An easy make-ahead salad. Great for lunches throughout the week. Toss in whatever veggies you have on hand, but be sure to roast them to bring out their sweetness. Use enough olive oil in the process and you won't need to add anything but a squeeze of lemon at the end.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

1 cup dried quinoa

1 medium sweet potato - peeled and cut into small cubes

1/2 red bell pepper - cut into strips

1/2 yellow bell pepper - cut into strips

25 asparagus spears - woody ends removed

1 zucchini - sliced into thin disks

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Celsius. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the vegetables in olive oil. Transfer to the baking sheet and roast until vegetables are cooked, but slightly crisp.

In a medium pot, bring 2 cups of water to boil with 1 teaspoon of salt. Add quinoa and reduce to a simmer. Cook with pot lid slightly ajar until fluffy and soft and the water is gone, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit with pot lid on for about 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Toss in the roasted vegetables. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy warm, cool to room temperature or chill and eat it tomorrow and the next day and the next day.

Variations: endless...



Marinated Tofu Stirfry

In general, I like working with a minimum of tools and equipment in the kitchen. A good knife, a cutting board and a cast iron frying pan go a long way.

My mom has had the same two cast iron frying pans for as long as I can remember. After experimenting (read: burning) with stainless steel and trying out (read: scratching) non-stick versions, I realised that I should admit that my mom might be on to something. I went out and got the best, most versatile pan I’ve ever had. And it will last forever.

In the old days, you had to worry about “seasoning” your cast iron – this involved coating it with oil and heating it at high temperatures to protect it from rust and to create a non-stick coating. But many brands today offer a pre-seasoned version, which means your pan will need very little maintenance from the day you bring it home until the day you pass it on to your great grandchildren.

A cast iron pan with a lid works well for a small stirfry. (I’ve got nothing against the tried and true wok, but why store two pans if you can make do with one?) Toss the marinade in with the veggies and it will infuse them with flavour as they steam.

Marinated Tofu Stirfry
Serves 2

1 cup of brown rice
1/2 cup each of broccoli, carrots, onion, and asparagus, washed and chopped
1/2 block of extra firm tofu, cubed

Marinade:
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sesame oil

In a medium bowl, combine all marinade ingredients except sesame oil. Add tofu and marinate for 6-8 hours.

Cook rice according to your preferred method.

In a cast iron or other large fry pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil. Add tofu in one layer to the bottom of the pan (reserve the marinade). On low, brown tofu on all sides.

Add marinade to the tofu, then layer the veggies on top. Bring marinade to a boil then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until veggies are tender crisp. When veggies are nearly done, uncover the pan, toss veggies and tofu in the marinade, turn up the heat and reduce the liquid slightly.

Pour over brown rice and drizzle with the remaining sesame oil.

Just a note: The jury is still out on tofu. Studies are mixed on its potentially beneficial or damaging estrogenic effects. My personal decision is to enjoy it occasionally, in moderation, choosing MSG free, non-GMO tofu. Please do what works for you.

French Potato Salad

Memories of France…

For me, one of the greatest pleasures of cooking is coming across a new flavour. I sometimes associate a flavour with my first experience of it. Some people open up an old photo album to reminisce. I like to open up a cookbook and remember when and where I was when I first tasted something.

Growing up, my mom cooked nutritious but simply prepared food and I didn’t get a lot of exposure to tastes from around the world. I think she must have been inspired by her mother’s way of cooking, which was to simply cook the food that the farm produced – there was no need to add a lot of fancy or rich sauces because it was so good just the way it was. We rarely went to restaurants, so we only ate the foods that were part of my mom’s repertoire. It was always delicious, but my palette had a lot of room to grow...

The sense of smell is highly linked to memory (because the part of the brain responsible for our sense of smell, the limbic system, is related to feelings and memory). But along with smell, each new taste experience adds something to my mental map and to the growing collection of stories about the food I eat.

Some examples…

Green Peppers
When I was in grade one, my teacher created a game where we had to reach into a bag blindfolded and identify the fruit or vegetable. I had never tasted a green pepper before, but I remember being completely blown away by the sharpness and the juiciness of a raw green pepper.

Brussels Sprouts
These poor little veggies get a bum rap. Do kids in real life squirm when mom serves them a plate of brussels sprouts, or is that only in movies? I felt privileged never to have been subjected to these green little monsters, but also complicit in their blacklisting. So, finally living on my own, I marched myself down to the grocery store and bought a bunch. Delicious! I'm sorry, but anyone who doesn't like them is crazy.

French Tarragon
I lived in France for one wonderful year and there are several foods that have the power to bring me back there. Along with small tasty French lentils, the predictable Brie and Camembert cheeses, chestnut spread, anything made with black currents, Nutella crepes and many more, the delicate, distinctive taste (and smell) of tarragon says to my brain: Oh la la…you are now in France.

So why not take a little vacation and make this fresh French-style potato salad? Tarragon is key. Eat slowly and enjoy every bite.

French Potato Salad
Serves 4

2 eggs
10 asparagus spears
6 medium white or yellow potatoes (choose ones that are smooth skinned and new)
2 tablespoons of tarragon
2 tablespoons of chives
1 tablespoon green onions
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon old fashioned Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
¼ tsp each of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Hard boil the eggs and set aside to cool.

Wash the asparagus and remove the ends. (To do this, start at the end opposite the spear and just apply gentle pressure as though you’re trying to bend it, until you get to a spot where it snaps. Discard this short woody end.)

Grill the asparagus at 300 C, lightly brushed with olive oil until tender crisp.

Scrub the potatoes, removing any eyes or blemishes, then cut into thick slices. Cook in boiling salted water, until a knife slides through them easily. In the meantime, make the dressing.

Chop the following finely and put in a bowl: tarragon, chives, green onions, garlic and Dijon mustard.

 Whisk herbs together with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are done, drain and run under cold water just briefly to cool slightly. Peel and chop the eggs. Chop the asparagus into large pieces. Put potatoes, asparagus and eggs in a large bowl and very gently toss everything with the dressing.

Cool to room temperature before serving, or refrigerate until cold.  Add more salt and pepper to taste.